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Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

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Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#41

Post by keiferski »

tracer4201 wrote: post #23

I took a leave of absence for a year. I went to India for 3 months in 2016, then Pakistan for another 3 months, followed by Afghanistan for 1 month. Afghan and Pakistani people are by far the friendliest among any nationality. I ignorantly thought they are intolerant of all non Muslims, but it turns out they could teach us a thing or two in hospitality and kindness. I learned some Urdu and Hindi along the way. Pakist…

Really cool story. How did you deal with the safety issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Were they a real concern, or is that mostly overblown by the media?

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#42

Post by q-base »

noname123 wrote: post #25

I'd love to hear concretely what you guys who traveled actually gained from traveling the world? Because I always hear that it's really exciting and you get to go to exciting places - but what exactly did you gain in terms of perspectives besides your instagram pictures and cocktail stories? I've never get beyond this superficial in hearing people's travel stories online and IRL. Maybe it's just me; but the idea of g…

You do not seem like you want to change your mind - and that is fine. If you are doing a cost/benefit analysis, then you are doing it wrong. You mock western consumerism but radiate tells of "western overoptimization" attacking everything as a task that can be broken down to individual parts, prioritized and optimized. That is in my opinion a very reductionist way to go about your life.

Traveling the world can open your eyes to other ways of living a life. It can teach you something about yourself if you are open to it. It can teach you to be more confident and self-reliant.

You will likely dismiss this and if I wrote long explanations of what I learned myself you would come up with faster, better or more "local" ways to get the same outcome - and that is fine. You do you. Then I do me.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#43

Post by mpaal »

keiferski wrote: post #35
mpaal wrote: post #10

In 2019 I went on a solo Biketouring trip spanning across Canada, USA, Peru, NZ and Taiwan lasting 10 months. While obviously the means of transportation was draining both physically and mentally it was amazing to be truly immersed in region I was currently visiting. In general it was great but if I were to do it again I would go way easier and slower on my bike instead of trying to race it plus I would have shortene…

How many KM did you manage to bike in that time?

In just the very first 30days I went from LA to Seattle through Sierras and Cascades (>3000km & 35000m of elevation) but in total I think it was ~14000km and ~150000m of elevation gain. that’s including taking a 2 months rest for US and Canadian Thanksgiving. Can’t remember the exact general statistics but I believe that whenever I had an active day on my bike I did like 105km and 1200m on average.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#44

Post by 100-xyz »

I left my job and decided to travel to China with the intention of staying for a couple of years. I got a job and the stay extended to 10+ years. I got married to a Chinese and now have a 4 year old daughter.

My suggestion - if you are thinking of it, go ahead and do it.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#45

Post by elyobo »

keiferski wrote: post #12

Absolutely worth it, however I'd offer a few short tips: 1. Try to stay in one place for a few months, minimum. If you can stay a year or two, do that. Jumping from city to city every week seems exciting at first, but it quickly makes everywhere feel the same. 2. To quote Lao Tzu, when your work is done, forget it. If you work remotely, actively disconnect at the end of the day. It's too easy to be constantly plugged…

1. is a good point, but I wouldn't be too focused on it - just realise that it's ok to do that, so that when you find somewhere you like, or when you're tired from the go go go, you do actually stop and enjoy yourself. Eventually you'll feel like moving on and getting back to it.

I've done three long trips quitting a job first (~20 months, ~12 months, ~6 months) and the first two had several month or more stops, and many week or more stops. A mix is good.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#46

Post by keiferski »

mpaal wrote: post #43
keiferski wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many KM did you manage to bike in that time?

In just the very first 30days I went from LA to Seattle through Sierras and Cascades (>3000km & 35000m of elevation) but in total I think it was ~14000km and ~150000m of elevation gain. that’s including taking a 2 months rest for US and Canadian Thanksgiving. Can’t remember the exact general statistics but I believe that whenever I had an active day on my bike I did like 105km and 1200m on average.

Thanks! That's impressive, although I guess 100km per day is actually quite reasonable. For some reason, Los Angeles to Seattle seems a greater distance than 2,000km.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#47

Post by hayst4ck »

keiferski wrote: post #12

Absolutely worth it, however I'd offer a few short tips: 1. Try to stay in one place for a few months, minimum. If you can stay a year or two, do that. Jumping from city to city every week seems exciting at first, but it quickly makes everywhere feel the same. 2. To quote Lao Tzu, when your work is done, forget it. If you work remotely, actively disconnect at the end of the day. It's too easy to be constantly plugged…

> Try to stay in one place for a few months, minimum.

I second this. 2 months is the minimum amount of time per country, and 2 weeks per city if you expect to get anything more than a handful of good meals and a couple adventures out of a place. My better memories were all from places I stayed for over 2 months, and all have more to do with people I met than the place itself.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#49

Post by nexus2045 »

redisman wrote: post #7

I did the digital nomad thing shorter term - for a few months. Kinda fun but I still found work even more invasive on my time than at home. Everyone’s having fun and relaxing at the beach while I’m sitting at the reception area trying to connect to the crappy wifi to upload my work or join a call. Or I’m sitting at a hotel room all day/night working because the time difference is weird or just working in a coffee sho…

This is a cautionary tale... I'm considering doing the same myself, and hopefully can get the most out of it. What would some of you have done differently? Considering mostly East Asia, and will be having a remote full time developer job.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#50

Post by hoka-one-one »

tayo42 wrote: post #48

Ive always wanted to do this, but I don't know what I would do with my stuff? Sell everything seems dramatic because i do have sentimental things. The idea of paying rent for a place in america/california and not using it feels wasteful

storage space
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